Canada-based RIM, which has officially changed its name to BlackBerry, announced the new Z10 handset today at its press conference in New York City.

The Z10 is an all-touchscreen device with a 4.2-inch screen displaying at a 1280×768 resolution with 356 PPI, a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. It also features a microSD expansion slot, a micro-HDMI port, NFC capabilities, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Z10 handset will start at $149.99 and will be available on T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T sometime in March. Verizon Wireless announced that prices will start at $199.99 for either the black or white versions, with the latter being exclusive to the carrier. UK and Canadian consumers can purchase the Z10 later this week. Heins blamed the delayed US launch of the new handset on American carriers.

BlackBerry also announced the BlackBerry Q10 handset, which features a full QWERTY keyboard and a 3.1-inch physical touchscreen. Unlike its touchscreen counterpart, the Q10 will have a 720×720 resolution display.The handset should be available sometime in April, though a press release from Sprint pegs it at "later this year."

Both handsets will run the BlackBerry 10 operating system which, as previously reported, is heavily gesture-based. On the Z10, the handset features a virtual keyboard that is reminiscent of BlackBerry's iconic keyboard hardware, right down to the frets between each of the virtual keys. It will also feature new camera software and BlackBerry World, RIM's newly revamped app store. Users will have access to content provided by 7digital, including DRM-free music downloads, next-day video downloads, and movie rentals.

What gets me is why they jump right to Z. I mean, it doesn't leave much room for growth or sensible model-numbering screens. You have to give Apple (in it's current incarnation) props for this: it's either Model followed by n & S, n+1, etc, or Model (Year of Release).

I don't see anything exciting or groundbreaking about the hardware - am I missing anything here?

Nope. RIM/Blackberry is simply buying time while execs pillage as much loot as they can from a quickly sinking ship.

BB10 was never about having a bleeding-edge, high-performance phone. As evidenced by their announcement (which focused nearly exclusively on the software side), they wanted to redefine the OS while putting it on a decently performing phone.

Where's the innovation? As I feared this looks like an exercise in "me too"-ism. Simply aping what has already been done by Android and iOS. That is not enough. That may allow them to hold on to some BB customers who were considering switching but don't want to, but it's not going to convince people to switch to BB. They need to offer something that Android/iOS don't and ideally, can't offer.

If you aren't going to innovate there's no reason to even launch a new platform. You're just throwing money away.

If I had a pile of cash laying around right now I'd definitely be shorting RIM^H^H^HBlackBerry stock.

I know it will sound a bit .. weird,but comment threads like ^ are one of the most tangible indicators that Blackberry is most likely doomed. Despite this article being about an 'anticipated' launch of new hardware and software,the comments are barely trickling in... In an equivalent article about iOS,Android or WP a similar newspiece would probably be beyond 80 comments easy,which can hint that,well,RIM/BB is irrelevant enough that the tech savvy audience of this site just can't really be bothered or get excited about the new hardware and OS.. and that is a Problem for a company that's banking on BB10 being their last best shot at surviving as a company.

Smart move to make sure they are on all four major carriers. One of Windows Phone 8 problems is having its best phone only on one carrier and then a motley crue of others on Verizon. And nothing at all on Sprint.

Blackberry (nee RIM) missed the boat. It's not about just having a smartphone, you need an entire platform these days. Apple has it with iTunes, OS X and iOS across multiple form factors. Microsoft has it with Win 8 Phone, RT and PC. Google has it with Android across phones and tablets and their cloud platform on PC.

Blackberry has none of that. At least that nobody uses. They missed the boat for winning new customers, so even if they roll out a new platform now, most of the market is already locked up (or at least has a huge head start in a market with very strong network effects.)

They're just too small of a fish playing in way too big of a pond with some nasty sharks. Just look at Palm to see what happens to an early innovator who stumbles, releases a good product, but is eventually too little, too late.

I know it will sound a bit .. weird,but comment threads like ^ are one of the most tangible indicators that Blackberry is most likely doomed. Despite this article being about an 'anticipated' launch of new hardware and software,the comments are barely trickling in... In an equivalent article about iOS,Android or WP a similar newspiece would probably be beyond 80 comments easy,which can hint that,well,RIM/BB is irrelevant enough that the tech savvy audience of this site just can't really be bothered or get excited about the new hardware and OS.. and that is a Problem for a company that's banking on BB10 being their last best shot at surviving as a company.

Noticed a similar lack of comments on other sites.

The screen sharing feature was about the only thing I found interesting about the new hardware. I'm sure gestures are something that a person can get used to (used them on other devices) but they lack the easy discoverability of more conventional interface methods. Until I try one I can't be sure, but I suspect the over-reliance on them is going to make it a rough transition for new users.

What gets me is why they jump right to Z. I mean, it doesn't leave much room for growth or sensible model-numbering screens. You have to give Apple (in it's current incarnation) props for this: it's either Model followed by n & S, n+1, etc, or Model (Year of Release).

A better question is are they hoping that people don't remember that Motorola launched a Z10 quite a while back. I may be an outlier, but I still remember the name because of the banana slider.

Until I try one I can't be sure, but I suspect the over-reliance on them is going to make it a rough transition for new users.

They fail at first-impressions when they're on the retailer's display case for exactly this reason. I know I was vilified by the PlayBook the first time I tried to use on. RIM would benefit from a full-screen sticker at kiosks explaining how this works.

Once you use the device, though, it really is quite elegant. I find myself trying to use PlayBook bezel gestures on other devices.

The screen sharing feature was about the only thing I found interesting about the new hardware. I'm sure gestures are something that a person can get used to (used them on other devices) but they lack the easy discoverability of more conventional interface methods. Until I try one I can't be sure, but I suspect the over-reliance on them is going to make it a rough transition for new users.

What I like is the integration. Being able to see what Joe is doing on LinkdIn, Facebook, Twitter, and email in one easy place is awesome. Having to switch apps on my iPhone is tedious. Having it in one place would be slick.

Florence Ion / Florence was a former Reviews Editor at Ars, with a focus on Android, gadgets, and essential gear. She received a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and lives in the Bay Area.